My Picky Eaters & I

Picky Eaters!! I’ve been one my entire life and now I have 3! Let me say, I owe my Grandmother an apology. Let’s be honest: Picky eaters are no fun and finding a way to keep them healthy, happy and full all at the same time is a bit of a challenge but I’ve found my own way.

My oldest is 20 so that means in 20 years I should have had time to come up with some pretty awesome picky eater options. Except I haven’t. Nope. Not even close. I’m not one of this amazing moms I envy who can have meal plans and groceries for weeks ahead. I’m more of a week to week (at times day to day) time meal prepper.

Part of that is because I hate cooking. Yes. I said it. I’m a woman, I’m a wife and I’m a mother and I hate to cook. I only cook because I love to eat. If I could afford a chef – trust me – my kitchen would rarely see me but since I can’t I have to make the things my Kiddies like work in a variety of ways. This brings us to the story of My Picky Eaters & I . . .

Okay. I know. How can I love to eat and still have been a picky eater? Truth is I’m still a picky eater. I may not like a lot of different things but I like to eat the ones I do – a lot. Now when you take an adult picky eater and introduce her to 3 kid sized picky eaters and let’s just say creating healthy meals are an adventure at times. My oldest is 20 so he’s basically on his own but when it comes to my 10, 8 and 6 year olds they have about 3-5 meals they eat without hesitation while anything else is a negotiation in the making.

Let me explain that whole negotiation thing. I’ve come to the point where I’ve decided I will not be a short order cook. This means you get 2 options. You eat what’s on your plate or a peanut butter and jelly or deli meat sandwich. No exceptions end of negotiations!

I have learned to rotate their few favorite foods into different versions of the same dishes. This means there is always some reincarnation of chicken, steak, beef, yellow rice, macaroni & cheese, sausage (you read that right – what can I say? They love it!) or beef on our table.

I’ve mastered Grilled Chicken, Shredded Chicken, Chicken Parm, Lemon Pepper Chicken and BBQ Chicken. It’s like the chicken version of Bubba’s from Forrest Gump. Mac & Cheese and Yellow Rice are ever present sides and we’ve learned to be creative with beef and sausage using them in Ziti, Tacos and Spaghetti. Hmm. I guess that would make pasta one of our staples as well. Yes. Pasta
let’s me take their favorite ingredients and give them a new look and taste!

 

Now I’ve only covered dinner because breakfast is an entirely different beast. One I am still learning to tame within the limits of Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Pancakes and Biscuits. I’ve tried French toast but that was – it wasn’t well accepted. Our Breakfast menu may not be long but it’s what they like and what they eat!

 

I may or may not be guilty of sneaking in a pork chop or two by calling it chicken. That is until my 10 year old figured out that chickens don’t really have any piece shaped the same as a pork chop. A bribe was needed to be sure she doesn’t spill the beans on that one to the other two for at least another few years. I mean a gal can only eat so much chicken, right?

[tweetthis]Picky Eaters may not like variety but they love what they like and That’s Okay![/tweetthis]

For Health’s Sake

Plus side is that both my picky eaters and I love fruits and veggies. We almost always have a bit of grapes, melon, strawberries, broccoli, corn (let’s not get technical on this one), salad or string beans on our plates – you know for health’s sake…lol

That’s the story of my picky eaters and I. We may not have a list of menus and meals for weeks to come but we’ve learned to mix up the dishes we like in different ways and still enjoy to food we love.

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